Sad News, Minor League Coach Killed By Line Drive

Former big league third baseman Mike Coolbaugh was killed when he was hit in the head by a line drive in a minor league game on Sunday. Coolbaugh was the batting coach and first base coach for the AA Tulsa Drillers, having just joined the team on July 3rd.Coolbaugh was standing in the first base coaching box during a game in Arkansas against the Travellers when he was struck in the head. He collapsed unconscious to the ground and was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. He was only 35.

Our condolences go out to his family.

Coolbaugh was a perennial prospect who struggled to get a chance in the show, but he had a tantalizing minor league career, so teams would take a look at him. Personally he was one of the guys I always rooted for, he was kind of a real-life Crash Davis from Bull Durham, a guy who beat around the minors and put up some pretty big numbers in his career. His best minor league season was with Huntsville in 1997. That year he hit .308 with 30 hr and 132 rbi. Coolbaugh had brief cups of coffee with Milwaukee in 2001 and St. Louis in 2002. He only had 82 big league at bats and was a .183 career hitter with 2 hr and 7 rbi. But his minor league career totals include a .269 average, 256 hr and 991 rbi over 16 seasons.